Petaluma husband and wife, son named as San Francisco murder suspects

The victim was found in a wheelchair with multiple cuts and bruises near Union Square last week.|
MARTIN ESPINOZA
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

San Francisco police officials Tuesday released the names of three Petaluma residents suspected in the slaying of a man last week near Union Square.

The arrests came a day after the Feb. 7 murder, where Andrew Emmett, 31, was found in a wheelchair with numerous cuts and bruises on the 500 block of Post Street. Efforts by San Francisco Fire Department paramedics to save Emmett failed, police said.

Officials said their investigation led them to the 100 block of Marshall Avenue in Petaluma. With the help of Petaluma police and Sonoma County sheriff’s officials, San Francisco police investigators served a search warrant and arrested Christopher Hardee, 47, his wife Nicole Hardee, 40, and their son Kayleb Hardee, 21, according to the Examiner.

All three were booked into San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of homicide, robbery, burglary and conspiracy.

Emmett’s family in Pennsylvania declined to speak to a reporter by phone on Tuesday. A man who said he was his father said he had little information about what happened.

“It’s totally devastating,” he said.

An article Monday in the San Francisco Examiner quoted Emmett’s brother, Ryan Emmett, saying both he and Andrew Emmett knew the Hardees.

The Hardees were arraigned in San Francisco Superior court Tuesday to face murder, robbery and other charges.

Court documents suggest the killing was drug-related and paperwork police found in a safe in the Hardee residence showed that Emmett owed the family $14,000, the Examiner reported. Christopher and Kayleb Hardee are accused of killing Emmett in a room of the Dakota Hotel at 606 Post St., the paper said.

The family used a wheelchair to wheel Emmett out of the hotel, leaving him on the sidewalk not far from the hotel, according to the Examiner.

San Francisco police said that anyone with information about the case should contact their anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444, or text-a-tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the start of the message.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.
Send a letter to the editor